Another language rant

By Joe Rector

It comes as no surprise that I love music. I’ve shared for years about my being in choirs in high school, college and churches. The problem is that I have a voice that weakens a bit every year. Without the help of Gage Sharp, I’d be sitting in the audience for the rest of my life. Coupled with my inability to pass a required advanced French class, my career choice changed from music to teaching English. Yep, back then, an English Education major was a fallback plan.

As things turned out, God knows better than I do what turns my life should take. Over the years of my career, I have met thousands of high school students. Not all of them cared for me, but I “think” a few might have liked the class and took away something they could use later in their lives.

I taught composition and emphasized grammar. I swore to those students how important the rules of our language were for clear communication. I used a red pen to mark papers, and many students panicked as they thought passing was impossible. To me, seeing the smiles on high school students as fewer red marks appeared on their papers was always rewarding.

I wasn’t the best at teaching literature. While I enjoyed the pieces and the books that were covered in class, I had to agree with the students that sometimes interpretations of literature were more like opinions than facts. I chose poems that left clear messages for readers. On a couple of occasions, I required students to commit to memorizing a poem because I knew that the overall message would stick with them into adulthood and even into old age.

My greatest love of all is grammar. I believe in those rules and know how important they are for the stability of our language. Today, many of those rules are under attack. I blame television commentators and popular individuals for the problem. For instance, these folks with far-reaching platforms have decided to destroy the comparative and superlative forms of words. We used to use “er” and “est” for most one and two-syllable words. At some point, someone who didn’t know the rule just put the word “more” in front of all adjectives. “Happier” became “more happy;” “purer” became “more pure.” I wonder how many people, recalling failed test grades of this rule, are riled about these new uses.

These same popular folks have decided to make up new words or to use existing words in inappropriate ways. Of late, people are saying, “The agency is ‘disappearing’ prisoners.” The conventional usage would be, “Agency prisoners have been disappearing.”

Another made up word is “gifted.” Too many people say, “I gifted…” Folks, the word “gift” is a noun. It is not a verb. You can give a gift; you can receive a gift, but “gifting someone something” is incorrect usage.

As I’ve said in other pieces, too many Americans have no Idea when to use “I” or “me.” The biggest problem comes when the choice is made after a preposition, and it usually is used with another noun or pronoun. Sadly, too many people say “for Mary and I.” If Mary were left out, folks know that “me” is the only word that correctly fits.

For years, teachers have drilled students on correct usage. Now, those rules are open to personal preference, even though a person who misuses words often comes off sounding uneducated. The question is whether today’s teachers know correct grammar. If not, our country’s ability to effectively communicate will suffer. Compared to other problems in the U.S., such a matter seems trite. However, the less people are able to talk things out, the more they seem to turn to more violent solutions.